Oxygen carrier for the oxidation of gaseous hydrocarbons



i5, i950 E. s. CORNER E-r AL 2,7,52 OXYGEN CARRIER FOR THE OXIDATION oF GAsEous HYDRocARBoNs Filed Aug. 12. 1947 Patented May 16, 1950 UNITED OXYGEN CARRIER FOR THE OXIDATION OF GASEOUS HYDROCARBONS Application August 12, 1947, Serial No. 768,248

3 Claims. l

In our copending application Production of industrial gases containing carbon monoxide," Serial No. 6,226, iiled February 4, 1948, we have described and claimed a method of converting a gaseous hydrocarbon into a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen utilizing an oxygen carrier containing titania.

The present invention is directed to a method for producing industrial gases containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen from gaseous hydrocarbons and to novel compositions useful as oxygen carriers in the oxidation of gaseous hydrocarbons.

In many industrial processes the raw material is composed of, or essentially contains, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Chief among these processes are the so-called methanol synthesis, in which carbon monoxide and hydrogen are reacted in the presence of a suitable catalyst to produce oxygenated organic compounds, and the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, in which carbon monoxide and hydrogen in suitable proportions are reacted in the presence of a suitable catalyst and under selected conditions to prod-uce a product primarily composed of liquid hydrocarbons. In processes of this type it is highly desirable that the feed gas be free from contamination with inert gaseous substances.

The obvious way to obtain a mixture ofcarbon monoxide and hydrogen is to subject a mixture of a hydrocarbon such as methane and air to controlled combustion. This procedure, however, results in a gas containing a large quantity of nitrogen. This detrimental dilution hasled to much study and experimentation, directed toward the development of a method for producing the desired make gas free from contaminants and diluents.

Among the procedures which have been proposed for producing from hydrocarbons a suitable gas mixture containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen free from large volumes of diluent gas is that in which -a metal is used as an oxygen carrier. The general procedure proposed isto react the hydrocarbon, such as methane, with a metal oxide until the latter is depleted in oxygen content, then to reoxidize the depleted metal carrier with air, venting off the residue gases, and again reacting the regenerated oxide with the hydrocarbon. By this procedure the gas resulting from the reaction of the hydrocarbon with the metal oxide is obtained separately from the gaseous residues from the oxidation of the metal with air.

While a number of metals have been proposed for use in this process they all present different problems when it is attempted actually to use them in the process. Zinc oxide is one which theoretically should serve the purpose admirably because its oxidation potential is such that it is practically impossible to oxidize a hydrocarbon with zinc oxide to carbon dioxide whereby a high selectivity to carbon monoxide can be expected in the use of this metal oxide. Zinc oxide, however, presents the great diiiculty that at the temperature at which it will give up its oxygen the zinc will also vaporize, giving rise to a difcult recovery problem. Moreover, zinc oxide does not effect a sufficiently high conversion of the hydrocarbon.

Of the many oxides which might be' considered useful, iron oxide, based on the considerations of availability, price and reactivity with hydrocarbons, would seem to be the logical choice. When it is attempted, however, to react a hydrocarbon f such as methane with a fixed bed of iron oxide,

the course of the reaction proceeds in a direction quite the contrary of that desired. At the outset the iron oxide oxidizes the hydrocarbon completely to carbon dioxide until an appreciable quantity of free iron is present in the reaction mass. From that point on some carbon monoxide is produced but at the same time large quantities of carbon are produced by reason of the highly catalytic eiect of the iron on the cracking of hydrocarbons.

Among the metal oxides which have been suggested as an alternative for iron is titania. This oxide shows considerable promise as an oxygen carrier, particularly when using the technique known as the uidized solids technique in which the carrier in finely divided form is suspended in a rising stream of the hydrocarbon gas to be oxidized in such a manner as to form a dense, iluidized suspension in which the solid particles are in a state of high turbulence. While it has been found that titania gives good results in the uidized solid type of operation the degree of conversion and selectivity attainable therewith leaves room for considerable improvement.

According to the present invention, the ecacy of titania as an oxygen carrier is increased by using in conjunction therewith one or more metal oxides, which are4 solid and reducible at a temperature between 1600 and 2400 F., of which the metal is commonly found in alloy steels. Of course there are many metals used in alloy steels which are not suitable for/use according to the present invention. Metals, such as silicon and beryllium, have oxides which are not reducible under the conditions specied. Metals, such as vanadium and molybdenum, have oxides which melt at too low a temperature. Actually the metals useful in alloy steels the oxides of which are effective for the purpose of the present invention are iron, manganese, chromium, nickel, cobalt and tungsten. Mixtures of these oxides are particularly suitable.

A preferred carrier according to the present invention is titania associated with the oxides of iron, nickel and chromium. In this composition the titania should constitute at least about 90% by weight. The remainder of the composition may be made up of the other three oxides in variable proportions. Suitable proportions for the other three components are 80 FezOs, 10 nickel oxide and chromium. The proportions of nickel and chromium oxide in this mixture can be increased considerably at theexpense of the iron oxide.

A composition of this type may be made` in various ways. The various oxides can be mixed mechanically into a homogeneous mixture. More intimate 4mixingmay be realized by coprecipitation of the various oxides from mixed solutions of their salts. Again, one of the oxides may be impregnated with a solution of a salt of the other oxide or other oxides and the impregnated oxide dried vand calcined. Of the various methods of mixing the coprecipitation is preferred.

In preparing mixed oxygen carriers according to the present invention consideration must be given to the fluidizability of the resulting product. When iron oxide alone is used with titania in the form of a mechanical mixture it should not be present in amounts such as to interfere with the iluidization of the -nely divided mixture. Iron oxide has a tendency to become sticky at the operating temperature speciiied and if it is employed in substantial amounts it tendsto cause agglomeration which renders fluldization diflicult. Accordingly, in this instance the iron oxide should not constitute more than aboutA 4 parts by weight of the total mixture.

Chromium oxide, on the other hand, can be tolerated in much larger amounts. Mixtures of titania and chromium oxide containing up to parts by weight of the latter are contemplated for use in accordance with the present invention.

Manganese oxide and tungsten oxide may also be tolerated in amounts comparable to those specifled for chromium oxide." Nickel and cobalt oxides, on the other hand, should be used more sparingly, it being preferred to keep their content when they are employed with titania below about 10%. It will be understood that the limits given for iron, nickel and cobalt may be increased when an oxide, such as chromium oxide, is used conjointly with them.

These limits on the contents of the various addition agents are given primarily in the interest of the iluidizability of the resulting oxygen carrier. Hereinafter when mixtures of these various oxides are referred to as iluidizable, it is intended to indicate that they are present in the mixture within the limits specified above. It is to be borne in mind, however, that the use of these oxygen carriers is not confined to the iluidized solid technique since they may also be used in iixed bed operations.

In the practice of the present invention according to the iluidized solid technique, the solid oxygen carrier is employed in the form of fine particles none of which is substantially larger than 10 mesh and the bulk of which is smaller than about mesh. For good iluidization it is preferred that the powdered material include particles of various sizes ranging upwardly from about 5 microns and containing a substantial fraction between about 200 and 400 mesh. With solids in the foregoing particle size range, suitable iiuidization is realized by flowing the gas upwardly through the ilnely divided solids at a velocity ranging from about .3 to 5 ft./second. It will be understood that lower gas velocities may be employed in which case the action may be more properly described as iiggling than fluidization. Any type of mixing in which there Is movement of the solid particles in the gas in such a way as to maintain a substantially homogeneous composition Vof solids throughout the reaction zone in the form of a dense suspension containing upwards of 5% by volume of solids is satisfactory for the practice of the present invention. i

The temperature maintained in the contacting zone in which the hydrocarbon is converted should be at least about l600 F. and will usually be between 1600 F. and about 2000 F. There is no actual upper limit on this temperature except that dictated bythe melting point of the finely divided solid in the contacting zone or the melting point ofthe material of which the contacting vessel is made.

The nature of the present invention may be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of the accompanying drawing in which the single ligure is a front elevation in diagrammatic form of one type of apparatus suitable for-the practice of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail numeral I designates a reaction vessel and numeral 2 designates a regeneration vessel. In the embodiment shown thesev vessels operate on the dense .phase drawofl principle. It will be understood that these vessels can be of the well known bottom drawoif type or the strictly upflow type.

Vessel I is provided at its bottom with an inlet 2' for gas and finely divided solid and at its upper end with an outlet 3 for gas ahead of which is an internal cyclone 4 or other separator for gases and solids having a dip leg 5 depending into the vessel. On one wall the vessel is provided with a duct 6 having its open upper end terminating at the selected level for the dense phase of the suspension. This duct empties into a line 'I into which air or other oxidizing gas is fed through line 8. Line 'I discharges into the bottom of vessel 2 which, like vessel I, is provided at its upper end with a gas vent 9 ahead of which is arranged a cyclone separator I0 having a, dip leg II extending into the dense phase of the suspension in vessel 2. Vessel 2 is also provided with a duct I2 on one of its walls having its open upper end located at the intended level of the dense phase of the suspension in vessel 2.` Duct I2 empties into line 2' into which is fed a hydrocarbon gas through line I3.

In carrying out the process of the present invention in the apparatus described, the vessels are charged with iinely divided solid the indi- 5 vidual particles of which are composed of titania impregnated r mixed with iron oxide and/or one or more of the other addition agents specifned. As previously indicated, this mixture is conveniently prepared by mixing aqueous solutions of a titanium salt and an iron salt and coprecipitating the hydroxides with an alkali. The precipitate is carefully washed to remove water-soluble contaminants after which it is dried and roasted. If the iinal product is not in the` iinely divided form heretofore specified, it is ground so as to satisfy the requirements.

In starting up with both vessels charged with the finely divided solid mentioned above, the system may be brought to a temperature between about 1550 and 1850 F. by feeding hot combustion gases through lines 8 and I3. If desired, some nely divided carbon may be mixed with the initial charge and the system brought to temperature' by burning off the carbon. When the operating temperature is attained, a hydrocarbon gas is fed through line I3 at a velocity such as to maintain the finely divided solid in vessel i in suspension in the gas in the form of a dense body in which the particles are in incessant motion. The velocity should beso regulated as to produce a suspension having at leastabout 5% by volume of solids,.preferably between about and 25%. The velocity is correlated with the amount of solids charged so as to bring the level of the dense phase to a point where it overows into conduit 6. The gases passing out of the vessel tend to carry solids with them. These solids are separated in the cyclone 4 and returned to the dense suspension. i

As the solid overflows into conduit 6 and thus into line 1, preheated air or other oxidizing medium is fed in through line 8 at a velocity such as to carry the finely divided solid into vessel 2 and maintain it therein in a suspension of the character heretofore described, the level of the dense phase of the suspension being so regulated that the dense phase overflows into conduit l2 which carries solid back into line 2.

The heat required for the reaction in vessel I is supplied primarily as sensible heat contained in the solids returned from vessel 2 supplemented by preheat imparted to the hydrocarbon gas from the hot exhaust gas from vessel 2.

It will be appreciated that the illustration of the apparatus and the drawing is limited to the bare essentials, calculated merely to depict the iiow plan of the process. Design and engineering details are purposely omitted to avoid unnecessary complication. Among such details are heat exchangers, aerating jets for the various conduits,` pumps, and the like. It is repeated that the iiow plan shown is only one of several which may be used, the essential requirement being that the now plan shall include at least two zones in one of which hydrocarbon is reacted with iron oxide and in the other of which iron with depleted oxygencontent is treated with an oxidizing gas so as to replenish its oxygen content.

In order to illustrate the improved results obtainable by the practice of the present invention, the following examples of actual operations are presented:

EXAMPLE I Methane was converted by contact with titania alone and titania mixed with different amounts of iron oxide in separate operations utilizing the fluidized solid technique. In these operations the oxygen carrier was employed in nely divided form having a wide range of particle size, including particles as small as 5 microns and a substantial proportion of particles between 200 and 400 mesh with all of the particles passing 100 From these results it will be apparent that relatively minor amounts of iron oxide when used in conjunction with titania greatly increase the conversion and/or selectivity. It is noteworthy that while carbon was produced when only 1% or iron oxide was used, no carbon was formed when 3 of iron oxide was used. With iron oxide as an addition agent the best results are obtained by using from 2 to 4% by weight of iron oxide. It is to be noted also that the better results 4obtained when iron oxide was used were obtained at a considerably lower temperature than that Yemployed when titania alone was used. It may be pointed out that in this particular example the iron oxide employed was a naturally occurring iron oxide known as Specular hematite and that it was simply physically admixed with the titania.

EXAMPLE II Methane oidatz'on with rutile ore plus NiOz [Fluid bed; 200 v./v./hr.; atm. pressure] NiOg Present, percent Zero Temperature F l, Methane Conversion, percent SelecCtiity To- These data again reflect the marked influence of the nickel oxide on the conversion attainable with titania. While the selectivity of CO with titania alone was 96% the conversion was only 9.6%. With 3% of nickel oxide, on the other hand, the conversion-was increased to 83% while the selectivity to CO was reduced to '72%. vExperience indicates that when nickel oxide is used as the addition agent it should not be present in amounts greater than 10%, although this upper limit may be increased when other addition te agents are present.

Exermnm Methane oxidation with rutile cre plus CrsOs [Fluid bed: 200 v./v./hr.; atm. pressure] Zero OnO; Present, percent l I 3 Temperature, F Methane Conversion, percent Selelvity To- With this addition agent it will be observed that there was realized by the addition of chromium oxide a large increase in conversion without any decrease in selectivity. Actually with 3% by weight of chromium oxide the selectivity was almost 100%. It is noteworthy also that with this addition agent no carbon was formed. This addition agent may be employed in amounts up to 25% by weight.

EXAMPLE IV Runs were made corresponding to those described in the previous examples using various amounts of an addition agent composed of 80% by weight of FezOs, 10% by weight of CreOa and 10% by weight of NiO. The data obtained ln these runs is compared in the following table with the data obtained when using titania alone:

Methane oxidation with rutile ore plus 80Fe2O3-1OC12O3-10Ni0 [Fluid bed; 200 v./v./hr.; atm. pressure] SOFegOr-IOCrzOg-lONiO Present, percent Zero 2 4 6 l0 Temperature, "F 1,690 1,720 1,630 1,680 1,650- Methane Conversion, percent. 9.6 56.7 .0 78.5 93.4 selectivity To- C0 96 94 93 99 31 CO; 2 6 5 l 54 2 0 2 0 15 This composite addition agent gave better resuits than any ofthe single addition agents.v Particular attention is directed to the results ob EXAMPLE V Runs similar to those described above were conducted when using varying amounts of a compound addition agent composed of 95% by weight of Fez@ and 5% by weight of CrzOs. The results obtained in these runs are compared in the following table with the results obtained when using titania alone.

Methane oxidation with rutile ore plus 95Fe2Os-5Crz0:

[Fluid bed; 200 v./v./hr.; atm. pressure] 95 FegOx-5 CHO; Pte5 ent, percent....- Zero 2 5 l0 15 25 Temperature, F l, 690 l, 700 l, 685 1, 700 1, 640 1,6m Methane Conversion, v

Bruant 9. 6 56. 7 35. 5 77. 3 82. 2 74. 5 Se ectivity 'Po- From the above data it may be seen that while the addition agent effects a very large increase in conversion with, in some cases, only a minor loss in selectivity as compared with the action of titanla alone, the addition agent on the whole was not as effective as that reported in Example IV.

In all the foregoing examples the mixtures employed as oxygen carriers exhibited excellent iuidizlng properties. These runs were all conducted in a quartz reactor.

Although in the foregoing description the specic operation described employed the fluidized solids technique, it is to be noted that in the practice of the present invention a ilxed bed or a combination of a fixed bed and a iuidized solid bed may be employed. The pressure may be atmospheric or superatmospheric depending on design and economic considerations. Pressures as high as 600 p. s. i. are contemplated. The feed rate of the hydrocarbon gas may vary widely depending on other operating conditions. In general permissible feed rates will be higher the higher the operating temperatureand pressure. Feed rates as low as 100 volumes of gas per volume of oxygen carrier per hour are contemplated and this feed rate may be as high as 3000 v./v./hr. The residence time of the oxygen carrier in the hydrocarbon oxidation zone will vary and is a function of the circulating rates control between the reactor and the regenerator required for temperature. This residence time lis also a function of the oxygen to metal ratio in the oxygen carrier at which high selectivities with CO production are obtained. This residence time may vary from about 5 to 30 minutes. In general it is preferred to have a residence time of the oxygen carrier in the hydrocarbon oxidation zone in the range of about 10 to 15 minutes.

The nature and objects of the present inven tion having been described and illustrated, what is claimed as new and useful and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An oxygencarrier adapted for the oxidation of a normally gaseous hydrocarbon consisting essentially of amixture containing about 97% titania, and the remainder an oxide of a metal commonly found in alloy steels and selected from the group consisting of iron, manganese. chromium, nickel, and tungsten.

2. An oxygen carrier adapted for the oxidation of a normally gaseous hydrocarbon consisting essentially of a mixture containing ,from about 94% to 97% of titania and the remainder oxides of iron. chromium, and nickel in the following relative percentages by weight Fe20a, 10 nickel oxide and 10 chromium oxide.

3. An oxygen carrier adapted for the oxidation of methane consisting essentially of titania in an amount of about by weight, and the remainder iron oxide, nickel oxide and chromium oxide, the latter three components being in the Number following relative percentages by weight, 80Fe20a, 1,219,277 10 nickel oxide and 10 chromium oxide. 1,559,599 EUGENE S. CORNER.. 1,771,130 ROBERT V. J. McGEE. 5 1,832,666 CHARLES S. LYNCH. 2,349,438 2,396,398 REFERENCES CITED 2,403,228 The following references are of record in th 2305566 111e of this patent: 10

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 21,932 Frey et a1 Oct. 28, 1941 Date Farup Mar. 13, 1917 Wlntsch Nov. 3, 1925 Larson July 22 1930 Specht Nov. 17, 1931 Koppers May 23, 1944 Turbett Mar. 12, 1946 McCord July 2, 1946 Feigley Aug. 13, 1946 OTHER REFERENCES Berkman et al.: Catalysis, Reinhold Pub. Corp., N. Y. (1940). D. 885. 

2. AN OXYGEN CARRIER ADAPTED FOR THE OXIDATION OF A NORMALLY GASEOUS HYDROCARBON CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A MIXTURE CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 94% TO 97% OF TITANIA AND THE REMAINDER OXIDES OF IRON, CHROMIUM, AND NICKEL IN THE FOLLOWING RELATIVE PERCENTAGES BY WEIGHT 80FE2O3, 10 NICKEL OXIDE AND 10 CHROMIUM OXIDE. 